lessons on expectations

The biggest lesson that Matilda has taught me is to let go of expectations and find something good in every situation. And really, isn't that one of life's big lessons? When looking back, it is easy to realize that disappointment stole a lot of happiness. Disappointment because of the unrealistic expectations I had placed on events, people, and stages in my life.
I have been wanting to go to a hot air balloon festival for years. They seem so magical with balloons lining a field, baskets ready to float, a sunset providing the perfect light, and happiness all around - simply magical. Years of dreaming had created the perfect pictures in my mind and last weekend, they would be mine.

We drove to Canada for the Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival on Saturday morning and left that evening without those magical moments described above. Instead we left with a pocket full of beautiful memories I never could have imagined. Walking inside a hot air balloon, watching the kids experience their first fair ride, enjoying a ferris wheel ride together as a family, listening to people speak french all around, sitting on a hillside while the kids ran around and played, and laughing in the car with Tyler while the kids rested their exhausted legs.

The wind may have prevented the balloons to fill up and take off, but these memories and the lessons they were able to teach our children were far more beautiful.